


Or You'll Never Know

by berrywarbler



Category: Glee
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-03
Updated: 2012-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 04:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/581223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berrywarbler/pseuds/berrywarbler
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian's good at getting what he wants, even as the game continues to change around him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Or You'll Never Know

**Author's Note:**

> This is not very Kurt friendly. I don't want any wank for any of the things I said about Kurt and honestly, if he's your favorite character, you may not want to read on.
> 
> Also, thank you to my betas/those who helped keep me going: Kira, Nikki, McCall and Roo. I love you all 3

There was absolutely no reason to travel all the way to Lima for something as simple as coffee, but Sebastian never took the easy route for anything in life.

And maybe he had made it more difficult on his own, after sleeping with half the staff at the coffee bar 10 minutes outside of Dalton's perimeter, but that place was always crawling with students trying to hook up with local girls anyways, and Sebastian preferred somewhere quieter to study.

Which was partially why he became so annoyed the first time the group of teeny boppers came in, obnoxiously loud and laughing as they threw their coats onto a corner table before heading to the counter to order. Sebastian was hardly an idiot; he knew who they were. Being the self-imposed Captain of the Warbler's meant that he had scoped out the competition, from Vocal Adrenaline to Aural Intensity and of course, the New Directions. They were small and rag tag but feisty, tending to fight their way into as many wins as they could before they were inevitably matched against someone with far more talent than they could ever dream of.

Or, more accurately, if the youtube videos Sebastian had spent one Saturday morning watching was any indication, at least more rehearsed and prepared.

There's Rachel Berry, the captain and by sure the loudest, trailed after by the tall one that stumbles over every other move and Sebastian's sure that Hudson can never actually get further than maybe Sectional's without the help of his girlfriend, but Sebastian can admire effort when it's occasionally made.

But neither them nor the sassy diva who they trot out to wail for final notes in an attempt at being 'diverse' gives him any attention, not that he particularly wants it. It's the other one with them that turns his head and catches Sebastian's amused glance in their direction, blue eyes singling out green and Sebastian keeps his face impassive, sure his Dalton uniform is a tip off that he's not from around the area.

He didn't think that Kurt would bother to come _speak_ to him, or he might have decided to just leave before having to endure that.

"You're Sebastian Smythe." The voice is drooling with condescension, even as Sebastian crosses his arms over his chest, his pencil falling to the table on top of the physics book he was attempting to work from. "Westerville is two hours away. Why are you here?"

"I happen to enjoy a good cup of coffee as next as the next, Hummel," he retorts, leaning back in his chair as he sizes the other up. "Why else would I come to a coffee shop?"

"To spy on us," Kurt accuses, his eyes narrowing and Sebastian's laugh is loud at that one. The Warbler's have no need to spy on New Directions, there's no fear that they'll lose to the group two years in a row.

"I have no need to spy on you and your…. _team_ ," Sebastian informs him, choosing his words carefully as he takes in the rest of Kurt's group now staring in their direction. "I would only do that if I was worried about the Warbler's chances, after all, and since I hardly think of the New Directions as competition, you don't have to worry about keeping your precious performances tightly under wraps around me."

Kurt doesn't seem to have much to add to that, instead storming off in a huff of indignation before Rachel's moving over in her seat and throwing a glare of her own over Kurt's shoulder to where he's surely filling them in on his disastrous encounter with the Warbler, Sebastian rolling his eyes at the dramatics of their clique before going back to his homework.

Maybe if they stopped gossiping and actually buckled down to plan their performances more than a week in advance, he thinks, they might finally win that National's trophy they keep proclaiming to want.

-:-

The second time he runs into Kurt, he's not even in the Lima Bean. He's somehow been dragged into some shit restaurant aptly named Breadstix by his father for their weekly meeting that Sebastian's supposed to fit in between Warbler rehearsals, lacrosse practice and the piles of homework that Dalton never stops throwing at him. He supposes it might be sweet, on some parental level, that his father pretends to care. But the truth is he cancels more often than not, and half the ones he does show up for he ends up on his phone, 'for business', inevitably leaving Sebastian alone in a restaurant to find some way to occupy himself.

His dad is outside on the phone, and Sebastian's already given up hope that the food might actually be edible after nearly chipping a tooth on a stale breadstick, when his eyes narrow in on a hairstyle nearly as tall as its owner.

He's alone, twirling a straw in his fingers when Sebastian slides in to the seat across from him, a wide smile on his face as Kurt opens his eyes wide in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"You looked so lonely, all by yourself," Sebastian mocks, tilting his head to the side. "Your hag ditch you to spend the night with the Jolly Green Giant?"

" _Rachel_ ," Kurt hisses, his eyes immediately narrowing as he attempts to defend his friend, "is with _Finn_ , yes. But she's not who I'm waiting for anyways. Not that it's any of your business. Why are you in Lima, again?"

"I had an important dinner to attend," Sebastian responds immediately, waving off any further questioning as he leans lightly across the table, and Sebastian's been around enough times to note the slight gulp that Kurt tries to hide as his eyes flicker towards the door, the way his tongue darts across his lips, and a smirk appears on his own. "So if it's not the Barbra wannabe that you're here for, who is it?"

"Why do you care?" Kurt shoots back, his eyes locking onto Sebastian's again once he seems to gain control of himself. "You don't see me questioning everything about your life."

"Ah, and it's such a shame since mine is far more interesting than your own," Sebastian grins, making himself more comfortable.

"Why are you here?" Kurt repeats, sounding slightly nervous as his eyes keep flicking between Sebastian's face and the doorway, nearly jumping every time it rings as it's opened.

"'Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,'" Sebastian quotes lazily, stretching out across the seat, his long legs accidentally-on-purpose kicking Kurt slightly before his heels rest on the seat next to him. "Maybe I'm incredibly fascinated by you, Kurt. Maybe I want to hear your every little secret and know every small thing that makes you tick."

"More like makes me moan," Kurt shoots off, and Sebastian has to hand it to him, he didn't think the boy had it in him. The rumors that he's as prude as they come had reached his ears, after all, and the light pink tinting pale cheeks shows that he's still embarrassed by his outburst, and it ignites something sinister in his brain as he moves to lean in close.

"In your dreams, Hummel," he hisses, once more taking in the small shudder that Kurt can't fight off, despite how much he's trying to.

"I have a boyfriend," Kurt replies finally, "I don't have any sort of interest in you."

"A boyfriend, hm?" Sebastian's eyes can't help but lighten with the slightest bit of interest. There are few out guys their age; Sebastian's only way of finding anyone in Ohio is due to his excellent ability to make any guy want him. With a promise of a great blowjob and their secret safe with him, boys are surprisingly easy to locate.

Kurt, however, is the picture of prissiness. There's no way he's found some sheltered, still-in-the-closet boy when all he really wants is a trophy prize, and Sebastian's inclination is to ask how he managed that when Kurt's back goes completely rigid, his smile strained as he looks in the direction and Sebastian's head turns to figure out who, exactly, Kurt's managed to lure into his web of drama and self-righteousness.

And _of course_ , Sebastian should have registered comments from the Warbler's before. The 'hunky' male lead they all seemed to have some sort of crush on, the one they were devastated about when Sebastian stepped in to whip them into shape, the one who had left them for the biggest traitor of them all.

He's heard of Blaine, but he's never seen him before, but he knows he can't miss out on this chance. And he has no immediate plans on leaving until he can work his way under Kurt's skin a little more by blatantly hitting on his boyfriend right in front of him, on getting under Blaine's skin until he can leave a mark and a need for more, but it's his father that drags him away before he can do anything about either with a simple bark of "Sebastian!"

He rolls his eyes as Blaine makes his way over, Kurt torn between staring at Blaine, Sebastian and Sebastian's father waiting in the doorway, and he manages to hiss a quiet "Watch over your boyfriend, Hummel. With a face like that, you never know who might swoop in," before brushing past the boy in question, not even bothering to hide his obvious staring as he walks towards the door, their shoulders grazing one anothers as Blaine whispers a small "Sorry," with a bright pink flush as Sebastian's eyes fall to his ass, a smirk on his face as he trails back up to hazel eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he grins before meeting his father at the door, ignoring the look of disgust on his face as he mentions that they have to go, that he has an important phone call with China, or India, or whatever the hell it is he needs to do.

"You shouldn't be so blatant in public," is all his father says, and Sebastian bites back an eye roll. He's been seeing his father stare at tiny blondes half his age since Sebastian was four.

He's learned from the best, after all.

-:-

It's another week before Sebastian runs into either of them. It's Kurt, of course, practically barreling towards him before slamming his hands down on the small table Sebastian's found for himself to study at.

"Can I help you?" he asks, ever the picture of innocence as he folds his hands over his AP History textbook.

"Stay away from him," Kurt seethes, Sebastian's eyebrow raising slightly in question. "He'll never fall for any games you try, so don't waste your breath."

"For someone so sure about that, you're being incredibly hostile."

Kurt only seems to get angrier at that statement, and while it had mostly been just a way to piss Kurt off momentarily, he starts to seriously consider the threat he had made.

Stealing Blaine away from Hummel is almost an enticing as the brunette himself, and he's positive the payoff will be well worth any risks he may have to make for it.

"Besides, what do you care if my efforts are wasted?" Sebastian continues, never missing a beat and far too well at reading Kurt's body language to note the way he leans in slightly too close, the incredibly light pink hidden beneath his porcelain skin, how his pupils are just the slightest bit blown out of proportion. "Unless, of course, you're less upset about the possibility that I can bed your boyfriend, and more about the fact that I didn't choose you to prey on instead."

Kurt's sputter of indignation, full of "I would never!" and "You're wrong!"'s, is all the proof he needs.

"It's not wrong to be attracted to someone else," Sebastian smirks, closing his books and gathering his things to lead. "But you may want to aim for someone you can actually obtain. And you're just not my type, princess."

Kurt looks like he might actually murder him, but he doesn't argue the statement as Sebastian walks past, a grin on his face all the way to the door before he turns around, deciding that it just didn't feel like he had really dug the knife quite far in enough yet.

"Tell your pretty little boyfriend I'll be around."

-:-

Sebastian was always a planner.

Moving in for a kill as difficult as nailing down Blaine Anderson isn't easy, after all, and sloppy work yields in nothing but negative results.

He has to be slick, manipulative.

He needs to find out about Blaine.

It's easier than expected to get the Warbler's to crack about their ex-leader. How he was the definition of charisma and talent, how if Hummel hadn't come along in need of saving, they wouldn't have lost him.

It turns out he's not alone in his hated towards Kurt. Almost every Warbler Sebastian corners talks about him with nothing but disgust. He listens to them complain that he swooped in, stealing Blaine away before they could so much as blink their eyes. How quickly Kurt jumped ship after they lost at Regionals, and how he was the reason Blaine transferred in the first place.

Not one of them places any blame upon Blaine's shoulder, claiming he was mislead by an incredible narcissist who only cares about his own happiness.

It takes one to know one, Sebastian figures.

Sebastian's able to find out enough basic information to gather that Blaine likes to be liked; he's into singing and performing and always stays in the top percentile of their class. He likes helping others, had taken Kurt under his wing from a bad situation and while no one says anything, Sebastian gets the gist.

Being gay in Ohio isn't easy for anyone, after all, and there's few reasons to transfer to a private school midway through the year.

A few of the Warbler's quiet down about the negativity they feel towards Kurt once his incident is brought up, shying away from the subject entirely. It annoys Sebastian to no end; just because of an unwarranted kiss and a couple years of mental and physical bullying doesn't entitle Kurt to whatever he wants, despite how he might feel otherwise.

And from the sound of it, Sebastian was right on the money with Blaine being merely a prize Kurt won out of the lottery. Blaine was willing to do anything for Kurt, but the Warbler's can't say the same for the other way around.

Sebastian is far from an idiot, knows that the guys he's casually asking for information from have a bias. But he can sift through opinions to see facts; and the facts remain: Kurt Hummel doesn't deserve Blaine.

But he still decides to see it for himself, firsthand, and he knows the easiest way to do that is from McKinley. He doesn't think twice before ditching his blazer for a far more comfortable cashmere sweater and a pair of jeans and maybe, as long as no one from the New Directions spots him before he see's them, he can even get away undetected.

The drive is always tedious, and he skips half the school day in order to make it before they'll all disappear from the McKinley grounds, but sacrifices have to be made on a mission like this. He figures the auditorium is the best place to go, slipping in quietly and sitting in a seat in the back row as he notes Rachel on stage, singing a song from West Side Story.

Blaine joins her a moment later, and while Sebastian's eyebrows furrow in slight confusion, he only slips a few aisles closer, checking to make sure no one's noticed him. But no one else is even there and while he's still not sure why the two of them, of all people, would be rehearsing alone in the auditorium, he has to admit he's impressed with how well they flow off one another.

"You were a little pitchy on the last chorus," Rachel instructs once they're finished singing, but her smile is wide as she beams up at him and Sebastian's managed to find his way almost to the stage, hidden in the darkness that the auditorium is covered in, the only light on center stage where the two of them are located.

"Not everyone can be perfect all of the time," Blaine teases, his voice light and melodic and she laughs in response, brushing hair out of her face and Sebastian has to bite back a laugh, because he's pretty sure she's trying to _flirt_ with him. Blaine is either incredibly oblivious or far too aware, but he takes her hand and squeezes it and Sebastian watches the muscles in his arm as he does so, ignoring whatever he's telling her in favor of his own imagination for a moment before he remembers that there's a reason he's there, sitting in the dark theater of a public school.

"Well, that's why I asked everyone not to come," Rachel admits, and it's small and quiet and Sebastian can hardly hear her but he strains anyways, needing to know what exactly the two have planned. "I figured if we were going to do this, we were going to have to do it properly. And with Kurt hovering, we can hardly break free of Rachel and Blaine and focus on being Tony and Maria."

"It's not like we haven't kissed before," Blaine grins, and Sebastian nearly falls on the floor at that admission, wondering just why in the hell the two of them would be kissing before Rachel retorts that it had never been like this, that it was far in the past and certainly not for a play.

"But I suppose we've put it off for long enough, and we do need to make sure we're ready for opening night," she finally relents, taking a steadying breath before standing on her toes, her hands on his shoulders as she places the most chaste kiss he's ever seen on Blaine's lips.

It's hard to sit in silence and not tear them apart, tell her that he'll show her how it's done properly, to give himself away, but their awkward giggles carry to his ears when they pull back before Blaine says something about trying again, his hands shifting from his sides to drag through her hair as they meet again, and this kiss-this is worth the parts of Tony and Maria.

It's deep, even Sebastian can see that, and he's sure he sees just the flicker of a tongue seeking another between the two of them as Rachel turns her head to take Blaine in further into the kiss, her fingers digging into his polo before they part.

Sebastian can feel the change of energy from where he sits, and there's no way the two of them miss it even as they pull away from one another, standing at an almost uncomfortable distance from one another.

"So I think we should be okay with the kiss," Blaine offers, smiling weakly and Rachel can only nod in response before she's making excuses to run off, Sebastian smirking as they both exit the stage, their voices becoming nothing more than muffled noises, high pitched with nerves and he quickly leaves out the back door in the opposite direction, only to run into the last person he had wanted to see.

"Are you _stalking_ us now?" Kurt hisses, rubbing his elbow from where Sebastian accidentally slammed the door into it.

"I think we established that you're not the one I want," Sebastian counters easily, turning to leave instead of dealing with the overdramatic boy.

"You can't seriously be after Blaine," Kurt argues, ignoring the barely hidden accusation Sebastian had thrown his way. "You don't even know him!"

"I don't need to know a guy to know I want my dick in his ass," Sebastian snaps, mildly annoyed with the way Kurt's trailing after him like a puppy. "Besides, maybe I'm not the only threat you have, but that's hardly a surprise seeing as you probably feed him about as much attention as you would a dead goldfish."

"I give him plenty of attention!" Kurt states, his voice laden with anger and annoyance and Sebastian can only roll his eyes in response, because he's pretty sure he wouldn't have just watched one of the hottest kisses he's ever seen had Kurt paid enough attention to Blaine.

"As much attention as you're giving me right now?" Sebastian asks, turning around to face Kurt for the first time as they reach the double doors that lead to his escape. His arms fold over his chest as he stares down Kurt, practically towering over him in intimidation alone, even without his height advantage.

"I-" Kurt tries, but Sebastian shakes his head, chuckling darkly as he leans in close, invading Kurt's space until he can hear the sharp intake of breath, can catch the way eyelids flutter close over blue eyes, and if he moves even an inch closer, he'd be able to kiss him.

"If you spent half the time you spent hassling me with your boyfriends cock down your throat, maybe I'd actually have a challenge. As it is, he'll probably be even easier than you are right now."

He hits the bar to open the door with his back, kicking it open before spinning on his heels and whistling contently to himself, leaving Kurt speechless and gaping behind him as he heads back home.

He's going to have to do more spying when St. Hummel isn't around.

-:-

"Blaine Anderson," Sebastian greets, leaning against an unoccupied chair in the Lima Bean where he knew the boy would be. Blaine's neck nearly snaps in two as he whips his head up to stare at Sebastian, apprehension written all over his features at an unfamiliar face until his eyes catch the Dalton crest still glued onto his lapel.

"Do I know you?"

"Unfortunately not," Sebastian smiles, trying to keep it as innocent as he can but it's not his fault his natural glance tends to be a smirk or a leer. "I just transferred to Dalton this year."

Blaine's mouth falls open in a small 'oh' of understanding, nodding before waving to the chair Sebastian's leaning on to signal that he's welcome.

"Sebastian Smythe," he introduces, and Blaine smiles warmly even if his eyes remain guarded, his fingers twirling a piece of napkin absentmindedly as Sebastian's eyes fall to the West Side Story script in front of him. "Where is the rest of your caravan?"

Blaine's face almost lights up in amusement, and the word 'cute' rings through Sebastian's head before he pushes it away because that word hasn't been relevant since he was about four and wanted to wear nothing but his Superman costume for two weeks straight.

"They're busy rehearsing, but Rachel-Berry, my Maria- she had a doctor's appointment so they're going over scenes with the rest of the company today," Blaine explains, tapping the script with his fingers.

He smirks lightly; Blaine is far too trusting, never once thinking to question why Sebastian may have picked him out of the crowded coffee shop, why he's even heard of him in the first place.

"Well, their loss is my gain then, isn't it?" Sebastian smirks, and Blaine's head tilts to the side as if he can't decide he's being mocked or not before he seems to decide on the latter and a blush tints his cheeks slightly. "I take it if Ms. Berry is your Maria, that leaves you as Tony," Sebastian supplies, as if he doesn't already know this, hadn't watched the two of them kissing in a dark auditorium only three days prior.

"Yes," he says, though his smile falters for a second and Sebastian's almost interested enough to ask about the story behind the small incident before he remembers that that's not a part of the plan, that there's no need to get attached.

"That's quite an iconic role," Sebastian offers, "one only suited for someone of impeccable talent."

Blaine's flush deepens at that, and Sebastian raises an eyebrow before taking a sip of his coffee, if only to let the compliment simmer over him for a moment.

"After all," he continued when it's clear Blaine doesn't quite know how to reply, "if the Warbler's have informed me of anything, it's that no one can quite top Blaine Anderson."

Blaine doesn't miss the innuendo, his eyes widening a little before he clears his throat, a little more nervous than he had been when Sebastian first appeared. "So you're a Warbler, then?"

"Captain," Sebastian explains, running his fingers over the edge of his cup and pleased to find Blaine's eyes watching him. "We decided to go in a new direction this year, to spice things up."

"I didn't realize things needed spicing up," Blaine says quietly, his lips turned down in the corner as he frowns slightly, but Sebastian waits until Blaine's gaze is held onto his own once more before he offers his own opinion.

"Some things are in desperate need of a little spicing," he says, his tone even and careful and he knows that Blaine is immediately thinking about himself, about his relationship with Kurt, and he hopes the words stick as they're supposed to.

He knows that he can't overstay his welcome, lest Blaine start to figure out exactly who he is or why he's there-he has to admit the fact that Kurt didn't forewarn him about Sebastian's presence makes him a slight bit happier, and he's sure he'll have some sort of war path meeting with the boyfriend in question in the next few days, but he stands and gathers his cup, straightening out his blazer and keeping his eyes on Blaine the entire time.

"The Warbler's are getting ready for their Sectional's," he says lightly. "I know how much they admire you. You should come visit sometime."

"I will," Blaine nods, almost too eagerly and really, Sebastian should hardly be surprised that it's this easy to win his trust, but he merely smiles before nodding and heading towards the door, a small parting wave sent in Blaine's direction before he disappears.

He's not used to putting in this much effort for a quick fuck, but he already suspects that Blaine isn't exactly ordinary anyways.

-:-

Sebastian doesn't mention his run in with Blaine to the Warblers on the off chance he never shows, but it's only 2 days later that Blaine shows up while they're running through 'Uptown Girl', the Warbler's never once breaking stride as they go over the choreography Nick and Sebastian have come up with.

He hangs back when the song is done, watching in amusement as Blaine is essentially dog piled on as they swarm around him, each boy trying to outdo the other as they speak over each other. Sebastian would be surprised if Blaine can make out one thing, much less the twenty being thrown at him, and he looks slightly overwhelmed until he spots Sebastian leaning against a couch, their eyes locking for a moment and Sebastian doesn't dare tear his gaze away first.

Blaine lets out a shaky laugh as Thad starts in on how the New Directions are preparing for Sectionals, ever subtle in his attempts to outwit the competition, shaking his head before proclaiming that that wasn't why he had come.

"We open West Side Story next weekend, and I came to invite you guys," he says with a smile, "that is if you want to come."

He's met with a resounding 'yes', and Sebastian isn't in the least bit surprised by the blatant stare in his direction as Blaine emphasizes 'everyone' once more.

Maybe luring Blaine from his 'perfect' relationship is easier than he had thought.

-:-

"You're shaping them up," Blaine says as Sebastian hands him a cup of coffee. He can hardly tolerate the cafeteria but by the time the Warbler's had all finally left, Sebastian could only offer so many relatively public places that the two could 'talk' in.

"Thank you," Sebastian smirks, tone light and Blaine flushes slightly as he pours sugar into his cup, not quite meeting Sebastian's gaze.

"It was a compliment," Blaine assures him after a moment. "Last year was surprisingly haywire, and without Wes I was sure there would have been complete mayhem."

"There was," Sebastian chuckled, "but I managed to get them back on track. The poor souls, didn't even realize how lost they were before I came along."

Blaine blanches slightly at that, just as Sebastian had hoped he would, and he gives him a moment to collect himself while Sebastian sips on his warm coffee that could honestly do with a shot of just about anything.

"It's too bad you left for McKinley," he starts again after a moment, smirking a little as Blaine finally meets his eyes. "It would have been a great pleasure to work with you."

"My boyfriend needed me more than the Warbler's do," Blaine admits, and Sebastian raises his eyebrows in feigned surprise.

"Boyfriend?" he inquires, as if it's the first he's heard of Kurt's mere existence, let alone the fact that the two had been dating since before Regionals the year before.

"Kurt," Blaine says, and his smile isn't as large as Sebastian suspects it should be considering he left his private school for this boy. "He's great, and he wanted a magical senior year, and who was I to deny him that?"

"What do you want?" Sebastian asks, and he's almost ashamed to admit that he's genuinely curious, more so than he is about most things. It's a bad sign, he knows, one that means he should pull back and end their meeting before he ends up making _love eyes_ at Anderson or something, but Blaine seems more inclined to answer him than he would have with the normal detached interest Sebastian normally portrays.

"I want Kurt to be happy," he answers, slightly skeptical as if that should be the obvious answer, and maybe it is but it's not the one that Sebastian had been hoping for.

"Even when it's at the hand of your own happiness?" he rebuttals.

Blaine doesn't have a chance to answer before Sebastian's phone is ringing, a small swear falling from his lips as he slides it out of his pocket to see his father's name flashing on the screen, fighting the urge to roll his eyes as he silences the call with a message that he'd call back later. He was making far too good headway, or at least he thought he might have been before Blaine's picking up his stuff, looking like he's about to leave.

Sebastian's arm reaches out and catches the skin just under the sleeve of Blaine's cardigan, fingers winding around his wrist and Blaine pauses in shock as Sebastian leans forward slightly. "I didn't mean to offend you, Blaine," he says quietly, hoping the words seem sincere even if they're not completely true, "I would just hate to see an ex-Warbler unhappy."

"You don't know me," Blaine snaps, slightly flustered and Sebastian notes that irritation is a much better look on him than it could ever hope to be on his boyfriend, a sly smirk growing slowly over his face. "What do you care about my happiness and what I want?"

"I care more than you may think," Sebastian offers, and while Blaine pauses, it's only momentarily before he's gone, disappeared with nothing more than the slight scent of cologne left behind as Sebastian leans back in his chair, recalculating his odds and stances before he can plan again.

-:-

Sebastian doesn't see or hear from him until opening night. In part, his laying low is all a part of his plan, waiting before he strikes again, but on the other hand-

Running into him at Scandals is hardly the original plan either.

It seems that the McKinley High drama department has all somehow secured their way into the bar, no one questioning how a bunch of teenagers have rigged themselves up at two tables and a variety of bottles and glasses scattering the table tops. Sebastian would normally be annoyed by the interruption, except there's one main point he can use to his advantage.

Kurt isn't there.

Instead, Blaine's got his arm wrapped around Rachel's waist as they sit at the center of all the attention, lapping it up with smug grins and giggles every time they look at one another. They're in their natural habitat, Sebastian decides as he sips at a beer the bartender handed him without asking for, hardly noticing whatever guy it is that has his eyes set on him for the night.

Just because running into Blaine wasn't originally in the plan doesn't mean it can't be now.

He waits for a little while, until Santana and Rachel are drunk enough to be swaying on the dance floor together, hips locked together as they sway to the music playing overhead and had they been at a straight bar, Sebastian knows that they'd have a group of guys circling them by now. As it is, the mohawked one looks like he's debating on slipping between the two of them and the blonde with the mouth may join him, but Blaine's completely oblivious to the way his Maria is letting loose on the dance floor.

Sebastian moves slowly towards him, like a hunter towards its prey, always afraid that it'll notice before he can make his move and flee, leaving him useless once more, but Blaine's got his eyes closed as his hips sway in a way that's far too provocative in the skin tight denim covering his ass and legs.

"You should be careful there, killer," Sebastian murmurs as he slides up behind Blaine, and while Blaine tenses immediately at Sebastian's voice, he doesn't pause or run away either. "At a place like this, you'll get eaten alive without someone to protect you."

"I have my friends," Blaine bites back, but the words are slurred and missing the edge Sebastian thinks he wants them to have.

"But not your boyfriend?"

Blaine shakes his head, and there's a darkness that seems to overtake him for a moment, his back leaning against Sebastian's chest before he seems to come back to himself, remember that he's not supposed to be dancing with Sebastian and he pulls away, keeping a foot of space between them that Sebastian thinks is supposed to keep Blaine 'safe'.

Not that Sebastian can really hurt him, after all.

Not nearly as well as he suspects Kurt could.

"He had to go home," Blaine explains as the song changes to an upbeat disco hit and Blaine's entire face lights up as he stares up at the ceiling as if God himself had bestowed the classic upon him. It's as if any discussion about Kurt is erased immediately from Blaine's mind and even as Rachel laughs only two feet away from them, surely a cosmic reminder that Blaine should be running far, far away from Sebastian, his hands fall to the taller boys waist as they dance closer together, sparks shooting up Sebastian's spine from the light brush of fingertips just underneath his polo.

He knows any touch Blaine sends his way is innocent, not to be taken as an invitation for more, but Sebastian's always ignored things like that. It's how he gets what he wants, and how he does it well. Not that he'd ever push further when someone says 'no'; he's a jackass, of course, but he's not stupid. So he lets his own hands land on Blaine's hips, listening as Blaine sings quietly under his breath, the words stumbling over each other and slurred from the sheer amount of alcohol he's taken in during their celebrations, but it's still a far better melody than half the shit Sebastian's heard on the radio on a daily basis.

Blaine seems startled by the time the song ends, Sebastian's hands never leaving their hold on Blaine's hips and Sebastian can see the gold and green speckled in eyes dark with either lust or alcohol, though Sebastian hopes it's a small mixture of both.

It's not that he wants Blaine to be drunk when they inevitably fuck, but he'll never be able to get his foot in the door without him being slightly intoxicated. He's too good; a good boyfriend, a good student, a good role model. And making out with Sebastian, as he hopes to do, goes on the top of Blaine's List Of Things Not To Do, he's sure.

This doesn't stop him from hooking fingers through Blaine's belt loops, grateful that Scandals has always been lax on the underage drinking law as Blaine follows with a slightly confused expression to a darker corner of the dance floor, away from Brittany, Santana and Rachel's grinding, out of sight of anyone Blaine knows where he's less inclined to back away in fear of getting caught.

"What's-" Blaine starts, but Sebastian hushes him immediately with a kiss, hesitant, just a small brush of his lips against Blaine's, and he can hear the squeak that Blaine lets out from the back of his throat. "Kurt," Blaine mumbles, even as Sebastian refuses to pull back, merely chuckling into Blaine's mouth instead.

"Sebastian, actually," he retorts, running his tongue across Blaine's bottom lip. "If your boyfriend can't be here to celebrate your outstanding opening night, than let me," he continues, ducking his head slightly to press his lips against the column of Blaine's throat, teeth dragging across it enough to cause Blaine to shiver but not enough to leave any sort of marks. "No one will see us. No one has to know."

Sebastian hears the name 'Kurt' again, Blaine looking confused even as Sebastian pulls him further into the dark recesses of the bar where he's gone much farther than some innocent making out in in the past, and while Blaine stumbles a little, he doesn't push Sebastian away as he backs him into a corner until Blaine's pressed against the wall, and Sebastian's pressed against him.

"Have some fun, killer," Sebastian murmurs, "let loose for once."

Something in Blaine must snap at the words, because the next thing he knows Sebastian's head is being pulled down towards Blaine's height, lips and tongue and teeth clashing together as Blaine tries to inhale him. Fingers are pulling at the hair at the nape of his neck while Sebastian's own hands slip underneath the fabric of Blaine's polo, scraping for any spare inch of skin he can get before Blaine can pull away.

And he would think of something along the lines of how ironic it is that these two are so desperate for attention, for lust and that they could easily supply it for each other, and that maybe even in Blaine's mind he's substituting Sebastian for Kurt-which he'll never admit stings, just a bit-but yet they're both falling far too easily into his traps, like puppets on strings that Sebastian has to move in just the right way to perform exactly as they're supposed to.

There's no reason for Blaine's tongue to be ghosting over his own, after all, not with all the 'love' he claims to have for Kurt, enough to transfer schools and leave behind safety and security and a superior education, but that doesn't stop it from happening. It doesn't stop Blaine's hips from pushing forward off the wall, meeting Sebastian's in a way that makes his breath catch in his throat as his vision goes dark for a moment, his teeth sinking into Blaine's bottom lip until the boy is letting out a groan from deep in his chest that Sebastian wants to hear again and again.

But he can't because all too soon he's being pulled back, a hand wrapped tightly around his bicep as Blaine stares wide eyed with lips shiny and bruised from their kissing, Sebastian vaguely aware that the one with the mouth-Sam, if he remembers correctly-is telling him to fuck off and stop taking advantage of people while Blaine sits silently, not bothering to come to Sebastian's defense.

A smirk grows on his face as he wretches his arm free, Sam's glare surprisingly harsh for someone who seems particularly dimwitted through the grapevine of rumors and gossip, but Sebastian locks his eyes with Blaine's until the boy is staring at him in a mix of shock and pain, the events seeming to catch up to him with someone else there to dilute Sebastian's presence.

"Call me," Sebastian says with a wink before slinking away, heading out the door to his car without a look back.

All in all, he counts the night as a success.

-:-

Sebastian doesn't wait for the phone to ring. He's not some tortured, angsty teenage girl whose major plot line is if the quarterback will finally call her back. He's got a life, after all. He has lacrosse practice at 8am, which is shit enough without the added hindrance of a hangover on top of it. And while they break once an hour for all six hours they spend running around the field, Sebastian isn't in the least bit fazed by the fact that pretty boy Anderson hasn't sent him some plea to keep his mouth shut.

Or begged him for more.

Except…

Maybe it does nag at him, a little bit. In some dark recess of his mind Sebastian might be slightly offended. Not because of the rejection, because Blaine had certainly wanted him well enough last night, hands dragging him closer and teeth grazing his lips before they were snapped back to reality.

But something about the situation bothers him. He hadn't expected _silence_ from Blaine, of all things, and even as he rolls his eyes at his coaches threats to bench him for the next game if he doesn't get his act together, he's tempted to find his phone once more and figure out why, exactly, Anderson _isn't_ communicating with him.

It doesn't hit him until he's sitting between Nick and Thad at dinner that Blaine doesn't have his phone number.

It's startling, because he's had his since the whole plan began. He has ways, after all, and distracting one of the Warblers long enough to forward Blaine's contact information to himself was the easiest part of the whole charade, but he didn't think about the fact that Blaine has no way to contact him in order to ask for a repeat of the night before.

So instead of letting it go, of doing what his brain is screaming at him to do and just wait until he runs into Blaine once more, he sends the first text.

_Any time you're ready for round two, let me know. And next time? Lose Ken._

He knows he can do better, wiping his hand over his face in shame because Ken isn't nearly as blonde as Evan's is, but the point seems to have gotten across when he receives three texts in rapid succession.

_Sebastian?_

_How did you get my phone number?_

_Last night was a mistake. I have a boyfriend, whom I love. I'm sorry for leading you on, but it absolutely will not happen again._

He rolls his eyes at the last message, because he knows that while Kurt and Blaine _think_ they're in love, they just don't know any better. Not that Sebastian has any sort of specialty in love, but he's not as delusional an idiot as either of them seem to be.

He's broken enough relationships apart to know that when you really love someone, truly and deeply as the two of them seem to claim they do, that you're not going to wind up trying to act on an attraction to someone else. That you can use excuses like 'attraction doesn't mean anything' or 'it was only a onetime thing' all you want, but the end result is the same:

If you're crazy in love with someone, you wouldn't want your mouth around some other guys cock.

And regardless of what both of them say, Sebastian's pretty sure he could have either on their knees within minutes if he asked nicely enough.

 _Whatever you say, killer_ is all he sends back, knowing enough about him by now to know that the words will implant a seed of doubt, that the next time Blaine's hand is wrapped around his own dick it's Sebastian he'll be thinking of, not Kurt.

There's still a lot of work to cover before Sebastian can fully flaunt Blaine's slip of infidelity in Kurt's face, but he's got the patience of a saint.

Sebastian never loses, after all, and the game is still only just beginning.

-:-

Here's how he knows that Kurt has no idea of Blaine's slip the night at Scandals:

Kurt would explode at Sebastian, tell him the game was over and that it wasn't _fun_ for him to have to suffer through knowing his boyfriend isn't getting what he wants from him. That Blaine has other options, other choices, that Blaine could leave him in a heartbeat if he so chooses.

Instead, when they run into each other at the Lima Bean the Sunday after the incident, Kurt merely glares in his direction before turning out the door, missing the trash can entirely as he tries to throw his empty cup away inside it.

Kurt's loud and predatory and territorial in every sense of the words. Sebastian knows this because he's the same way, if he cared about anything enough to call it his own. There's not a chance in hell Kurt would sit idly by and not attack Sebastian if he knew that Blaine had made out with him in a dark corner of a gay bar, that he wouldn't make both of their lives a living hell if he had known.

So it's obvious, then, that he doesn't know.

But here's how Sebastian knows that his attempts at luring Blaine away go further than just pissing off Hummel:

When he comes into the Lima bean approximately 25 minutes after his boyfriend has left, Sebastian stays in his seat.

It's the prime opportunity, after all, to go over and sit next to Blaine and lay his hand on his thigh and ask if he's sure he doesn't want to repeat the other night, preferably in his car at that exact moment, to pull on Blaine's ear with his teeth and completely ignore Rachel and the shocked expression she'd wear at Sebastian's 'boldness'. Blaine would probably go into shock, after all, and Rachel would scurry away to tell her fellow Broadway diva, but Sebastian decides against it.

He feels mildly uncomfortable with the decision, like he's going against some sort of code and in his head, he is. There's not supposed to be any sort of attachment or care for the brunette who's leaning across the table to whisper hurriedly to his co-star, but the thought that that's what's stopping him won't disappear once it pops up. That if it was any other guy, he'd have shown up at Kurt's house and stolen Blaine right there in front of him.

But it's Blaine, and he hardly knows him but he's protecting him in some way.

He's not protecting himself; Sebastian has dealt with far worse than Kurt Hummel in his time, and for far less than Blaine Anderson. And he thinks something dramatic along the lines of how maybe this is a sign of things to come, that he should run before his dignity and pride are laying in puddles at Blaine's feet, but the thought is erased before it can even finish forming consciousness.

There's no changing Sebastian.

There's no point _in_ changing, he thinks and for that reason alone he gets up to move across the shop as Rachel finds her way to the line, staring apprehensively at the board in front of her as she decides what to order while Blaine stares miserably out the window next to him.

"An orgasm might turn that frown upside down," Sebastian smirks as he slides into Rachel's spot, and Blaine jumps nearly a foot in the air as he turns to look at him, distrust and worry coloring his features as he takes him in.

"Go away," he snaps, and Sebastian raises an eyebrow in surprise before Blaine runs a hand over his face and he can take in the shadows under his eyes, the fact that his hair-normally gelled down so much Sebastian's not sure a nuclear explosion could move even so much as a strand out of place-is slightly curly, obviously attempted to be smoothed down and failed for whatever reasons Blaine looks like he wants to drown in a lake for.

"That's all you have?" Sebastian asks, continuing regardless because he doesn't back down, ever. He's not about to run with his tail between his legs because Blaine _snapped_ at him. "I'm surprised, Anderson, considering how close you wanted me the other night."

Red flushes over Blaine's skin and he looks towards where Rachel is now staring blatantly at the two of them, not even bothering to move ahead in line as she tilts her head to watch them.

"Be quiet about that," Blaine hisses, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck. "I haven't-I can't tell Kurt about that. He'll hate me."

"Right," Sebastian snorts, rolling his eyes dramatically, "because St. Hummel is definitely worth the effort you seem to think is needed to keep that under wraps."

"It's been two days and you've brought it up twice," Blaine counters sharply, and his glare might have stung if Sebastian allowed himself to dwell on it instead of focused on the act of stretching his legs underneath he table until his calf was resting against Blaine's.

"It was a hot kiss," Sebastian shrugs, looking calculatedly nonchalant about the event, as if he hadn't spent the rest of Friday night jerking off thinking about how much further he would have liked it to go. "Who can blame me for wanting to see what else you're good at?"

"You're not going to," Blaine argues, the pink still twinging his cheekbones even as Sebastian chuckles and shakes his head.

"Has Hummel finally decided to take the stick out of his ass and give it up to you then?" he retorts, and the momentarily panic that flashes across Blaine's face tells him that yes, he had. "Well then," Sebastian says evenly, feeling the heat of Blaine's body even as he retracts his body and moves to stand up, using Rachel's inevitable reappearance as an excuse in his mind to retreat, "whenever you're ready for better, you have my number."

He can't ignore the sting this time, the one that strikes low in his chest and his head, some weird emotion tearing at his brain and for the first time in his 17 years, Sebastian starts to question if the game is really worth it.

-:-

In the end, he decides that it ultimately is. Even if his brain is starting to think things that go along with _feelings_ that Sebastian has avoided at all cost since grade school when his first-and only-boyfriend dumped him on the swing set.

It's not like he doesn't know about both Kurt and Blaine's histories; at this point he could probably write their biographies if he was ever incredibly desperate for a job. He does his research and he does it well. He knows about Kurt's mom, knows how supportive his dad is, he even knows about Karofsky, as well hidden as that's kept.

And he knows about Blaine, about the Sadie Hawkins dance he didn't fare well in, knows that Dalton was his saving grace and that he left for McKinley simply for Kurt. He knows about his brother, Cooper, famous in the commercial circuit of the greater Los Angeles area.

But as much as Sebastian wants to keep his distance, keep his knowledge about Blaine down to facts and figures drawn on maps and excel sheets, there's a strange longing for more underneath it. He had hidden it well, before the night at Scandals. It was nothing more than a lust, a physical need to touch and be touched by Blaine. A slow burn that settled underneath his skin, ignited by hazel eyes and curly hair and broad shoulders. He was the boy everyone wanted, unattainable and if Sebastian thought there was anyone who might be out of his league, Blaine was it.

But there was something different about it, after that night and even before then if he looked back. There was a desire to know Blaine, the person, not simply Blaine the warm body. It terrified him, in a way, it was new and unknown and it could throw everything out the window.

But Sebastian never backed down from a fight. And if he had to sort through unfamiliarity to get what he wanted, well, it was just one more challenge to work through.

-:-

Blaine becomes silent for nearly a week after their run in at the Lima Bean, but Kurt doesn't.

_I hear you were at Scandal's opening night._

Sebastian chuckles but ignores the text, knowing it'll drive Kurt further up a wall the longer he ignores him. He's not used to it, after all, he throws hissy fits and tantrums until he gets his way but Sebastian isn't a teammate, he isn't a friend, he's not even an acquaintance. He's an enemy, and a vicious one at that, and he doesn't play nice.

_I told you to stay away from Blaine._

Kurt doesn't seem to understand the basic psychology behind telling Sebastian he can't have something.

It only makes him want it more.

His fingers hover over Blaine's name in his phone, rolling his eyes as yet another text rolls in from Kurt, the boy persistent and demanding and loud even though words on a screen, typing out a quick _I'll call a cease fire if you meet up with me this weekend_ and sending it to Blaine.

_Where?_

The response is immediate, as if Blaine's been waiting for a message like this and for all Sebastian knows, maybe he has been. Blaine's both easy to deduce while still being an enigma, something he can't quite pin down despite all the statistics he can gather about the boy.

_I have a lacrosse game tomorrow. We can meet up after._

He doesn't have a set plan, exactly, not that Blaine ever lets him keep with one when he does. His main objective is to figure out exactly what is happening in his head, why he can't stick to the rules he's outlined so carefully over the years when it comes to Blaine, if maybe despite all the reasons why it's nearly impossible to reach beyond the walls he's built up there is some way to knock them down.

Or at least, put a tiny dent into one of them.

He wonders if he wants to be sincere.

He's never been one for second guessing or thinking too deeply into his own emotions, instead choosing to let them come and go. He can control them, of course, make sure that he's always collected, stoic, giving off nothing more than a slightly amused smirk or the raise of an eyebrow.

Giving away emotions is even worse than having them.

Somehow he doesn't think Blaine would agree.

What Blaine does agree to, shockingly enough, is meeting with Sebastian after his game. And Sebastian spots him, halfway through and surrounded by Warblers, and his next three goals are nearly enough to impress a scouting coach recruiting for colleges, far too show-offy for a boy he has no real reason to impress.

He ignores the jeering of his teammates by pointing out that he won them the game, showering off quickly before dressing into jeans and a polo he certainly would never admit to selecting carefully out of his closet that morning before he disappears from the locker room to find Blaine.

"You're quite an impressive player," Blaine greets before Sebastian even spots him, leaning against one of the pillars outside the steps of the dorms.

"You have no idea," Sebastian retorts, making sure to keep his movements careful as he leans against an opposite pillar, raking his eyes up and down Blaine's body until a slight blush covers the others cheeks. "I'm the best, after all."

"I'm sure you are," Blaine retorts, and there's a slight fire in his eyes that tells Sebastian he doesn't quite miss the connotation of Sebastian's words, something that draws him closer until his hand is resting on the stone next to Blaine's head, Sebastian's body mere inches from his own and he's so close he can hear the hitch in Blaine's breathing, a small chuckle rushing from Sebastian's body and Blaine squirms, almost uncomfortably but not quite, his eyes darting from Sebastian's to their surroundings as if he's wondering if he should escape or not.

"I'd love to demonstrate," Sebastian murmurs, ducking his head until his teeth graze the column of Blaine's neck, just under his ear, and he can feel the shudder, watching as Blaine's eyes flutter close and his eyelashes fan across his cheeks, Sebastian's free hand following the slight curve of Blaine's hip.

"I thought you called a cease fire," Blaine replies, though it sounds as if the words want to stick inside his throat, and Sebastian wonders if Blaine's mouth is as dry as his own seems to be.

"I changed my mind," Sebastian shrugs, but Blaine seems to find strength from somewhere and suddenly Sebastian is being pushed away, the fire even brighter in Blaine's glare as he stares Sebastian down.

"I have a boyfriend," he spits out, venom on his tongue that Sebastian wants to taste, "so you need to stop. We can be _friends_ , if you stop this ridiculous charade."

"It's not a charade, killer," Sebastian smirks, brushing imaginary dirt off his chest as if to collect himself, "I go after what I want, and what I want is you."

"You can't have me," Blaine spits out, "I'm in love with-"

"Kurt," Sebastian interrupts, rolling his eyes. "Yes, the martyr that he is. How could I forget."

"At least he'd never hurt me," Blaine snaps, "just because I'm not at Dalton anymore doesn't mean I don't hear things, Smythe. All you do is use guys and leave them, and I'm not stupid enough to fall for your charisma and flattery, so play your games with someone else."

The smile on Sebastian's face feels forced, almost; hearing his reputation that he'd built so well in the past laid out like that from Blaine's lips is almost painful. In a place that Sebastian keeps tightly locked away, the words penetrate the most, opening the door he's kept shut for too long now to do a 180 in only a few seconds, so he ignores the latter half of Blaine's accusations to narrow in on the first.

"Your precious boyfriend would never prey victim to those games either, right Anderson?" Sebastian snarls, the words coming out harsher than intended and Blaine's eyebrow nearly shoots into his hairline in surprise as Sebastian corners him against the pillar once more. "He's too good, too sweet, too _perfect_ ," the words drop like bombs, each one laced with another layer of disgust and incredibility. "It would take more than a simple attraction to someone that isn't you to send him running right?"

Blaine gulps, looking between them before nodding, resolve firm as he meets Sebastian's gaze after a moment. "Kurt would never hurt me."

Sebastian just shakes his head, pulling away and chuckling a little. "I may have a reputation, Anderson, but at least I'm not a liar."

It's like going back to square one, he knows, the look Blaine throws his way full of contempt before he storms off, but the words will nag at him until he wonders, and when he's ready for the answers, Sebastian is more than willing to provide them.

-:-

 _You're wrong_.

The text comes exactly five days and two hours later, while Sebastian is sitting in the library surrounded by books as he attempts to study for an economics test he has the next day, and for a second he's too involved in his schoolwork to even remember what could spur Blaine on to send that.

It hits him after a moment, a grin spreading across his features because he knew that the statement would get to him eventually, if he implemented the doubt strongly enough. And he knows enough about Blaine's personality, his constant need to be reassured, that not answering will do more damage to him than arguing that Sebastian Smythe may be a lot of things, but 'wrong' is never one of them.

_Kurt would never cheat on me._

Sebastian actually laughs when that one arrives, an hour after Blaine's first, and he can't help himself as he types out a quick message, _Oh really? Ask him about the day I was at McKinley then._ It's a self-sacrifice, to admit that he had gone as far as stalking to find out about Blaine, but Sebastian is also pretty sure that once Kurt sputters indignantly and utters every horrible word he possibly can about Sebastian, cheeks flushed and eyes wild, Blaine might see the truth of the matter underneath.

Sebastian can have anyone he wants, and what he doesn't want is the lemur eyed fairy with the high pitched voice who is convinced he can have anything _he_ wants without putting in even an ounce of effort for it. At least Sebastian is willing to put the work in for the ultimate payoff.

Blaine never texts him back.

-:-

"Why were you at McKinley?"

Here's the thing about Blaine; Sebastian can't quite put his finger down on exactly what the boy will do next. He certainly hadn't expected to swing his dorm room door open to find the boy standing there, arms crossed over his chest and a hard expression on his features while some of the other guys poke their heads out of their own doors to see the commotion.

Sebastian wraps his hand around Blaine's wrist, tugging him into his room so he can close the door, keep them from becoming some sort of scandal and it weighs, somewhere in his mind, that he's doing this for Blaine. Because Sebastian loves an audience, it makes it more fulfilling, but Sebastian also knows that Blaine still doesn't want to hurt Kurt. Even if he can't fathom why, Sebastian can acknowledge it.

"I was spying," Sebastian admits, because he had told Blaine he wasn't a liar and he wasn't about to start now. The truths, honesty-they're uncomfortable and awkward and unfortunate at times, but he doesn't do anything he won't admit to when pressed about it.

"Why?" He's trying his best to stay closed off, to remain in control of the situation, but Sebastian can read him better than that. He can see the doubt and insecurity in the dimmed light of his eyes, how they're not as bright as they normally are, the slump in his shoulders and maybe Kurt did come clean, fully and completely, and all Sebastian can think is _now is my chance._

"I don't think you care so much about why I was there," Sebastian says, pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning against, "so much as the what I did when I was there. And the who I ran into."

Blaine scoffs at that, but it's quiet, almost broken, and Sebastian has to pause for a moment before the small sting of-protection, maybe, nurturing, almost, whatever it was was completely unacceptable at any point-it passes, and he moves to stand only a small distance away from Blaine. Six inches, at most, enough that Blaine could still run, but close enough that he can figure out Sebastian's ultimate intentions.

"Kurt told me you ran into him," Blaine finally says after a minute, his hands falling down to his sides and Sebastian watches as they curl into small fists for a moment before he unflexes them, "he told me all about you, Sebastian. All your games and mind tricks. That you're _using_ me to get under his skin. I think it's despicable that you'd even think I'd fall for that."

"But you have," Sebastian points out, still not touching Blaine despite how much he wants to, shrugging his shoulders instead. "I had you well and good that night at Scandals, didn't I? Does Kurt know about that?"

Blaine shakes his head, eyes downcast and face riddled with guilt as Sebastian just laughs in response, mimicking Blaine's earlier stance by crossing his arms over his chest. "So, he told you everything ,then? That my intentions with you were to prove that I could steal you away from his less than attentive ways? You should be _grateful_ , Blaine, that someone wants to pay attention to you. Because it clearly isn't Hummel." Blaine opens his mouth to protest, but Sebastian just shakes his head, plowing through regardless. "Oh, I know what you all say. You're soulmates, kindred spirits, destined to be together. That he saved you the day he spied on your school, that you saved him when you showed him the way to the senior commons. I've heard it from half of McKinley and almost every Warbler. You two are _unbreakable_ , there's no point in trying. But here's the kicker, Anderson, I didn't even have to try all that hard at all did I?"

"You didn't-"

"I got your boyfriend chasing after me without even putting in a molecule of effort, killer. That's how this all started, but he didn't tell you that, now did he? But Kurt-" Sebastian says the name with nothing but disdain, Blaine's face flinching slightly even as he watches Sebastian's fingers trail up the curve of his neck, apprehensive and nervous but not pushing him away, "Kurt doesn't deserve you, Blaine. Instead of putting up a fight for you, instead of locking into you more what has he done? Hm? He's let you run off to gay clubs alone, to fall prey to lacrosse players with wandering hands and he's let you walk right into any of my traps time and time again."

"Its not a game to me, Sebastian," Blaine breathes, the words sharp even if his voice is lacking conviction, and Sebastian finds himself nodding in response, catching hazel eyes with his own green until he's sure Blaine is listening to him, because he'll only say it once.

"This stopped being a game a while ago," he agrees, and he can see how thickly Blaine swallows, his Adams apple moving almost in slow motion as he tries to look anywhere but at Sebastian, despite how he's closing the distance between them now. "I may have gone into this with nothing but bad intentions, but that doesn't mean things can't change."

It's the closest he'll come to admitting that there's something more for him than a hot ass and a fiery competition, but Blaine seems to take it regardless, his eyes wary even as Sebastian draws him close, hands winding around his waist to bring him flush against his own body while his mouth finds Blaine's, kissing him lightly, giving him the chance to leave.

He wants Blaine, but he won't force him into this either.

Blaine's conscious seems to leave him the second Sebastian deepens the kiss, his hands no longer impassively laying at his sides as they rake through Sebastian's hair, pulling him closer while their lips slide together with ease, every time one pulls back even an inch the other pushes forward to close the gap, a push and pull until Sebastian's physically pushing Blaine backwards, his knees hitting the edge of Sebastian's bed as he crumples backwards and they disconnect, but only momentarily.

Because this is where Blaine should be panicking, pulling away and running as far as he can to his car to take him back to Lima, to his safely packaged life of boyfriend, friend, and reigning title of star to a school that doesn't seem to want him half the time. But instead Sebastian's being pulled down by the lapel of his blazer, his legs falling to either side of Blaine's hips as they meet for a kiss somehow hungrier than all the rest.

It's attention Blaine wants, in the end, Sebastian knows this. Attention for who he is, instead of what he can do, but that's the only way he really knows how to get noticed. And Sebastian's not the type to slow things down to have a conversation of all things, not when the time for talking is long past and Blaine's chest is pressed against his own and he's trying to push himself closer to Sebastian, almost like Blaine wants to crawl right into his very skin.

Desperation, Sebastian pins down. That's what Blaine is projecting, the desperation to be wanted even for a little while, and it's something that feels achingly familiar in the deep corners of his mind. That someone wants him somehow, even if it comes at the price of hands fumbling over shoulders and down backs, latching onto hips and knees parting thighs to drag half-hard cocks beneath confines of clothing against one another. It's something, and something is always better than the nothing that usually fills him up.

"Wait," Sebastian finds himself breathing as Blaine's fingers slip under the buckle of his belt, undoing it quickly before Sebastian has to hide his face in Blaine's neck with a groan and a moment to mourn for the fact that he's an even bigger idiot than he had thought, pinning Blaine's hands before they can continue to undo his pants and get him off like they both so clearly, obviously want to happen. "Wait, Blaine, stop," Sebastian mutters, Blaine pausing with a look of almost incredibility on his face as Sebastian pushes himself to his knees, sitting on the bed and not on top of Blaine where he can hopefully gain a sense of control.

"Are you saying 'no'?" Blaine asks, his smile wry but sad, underneath, and despite that Sebastian knows that this is what has to happen. And not even for the game, because he could win, easily, right here right now. Splay Blaine underneath of him and take everything he has to offer without a second thought, throw it in Hummel's face and accept his victory.

But the point of getting into this in the first place was to prove that he was better than Hummel, and having Blaine cheat on his boyfriend, shitty and inattentive though he might be, doesn't make him the better man.

"I'm saying," he says, voice strained from the effort not to continue what they had been doing, "that fucking you won't make things better for you. I may not give a fuck about Hummel, but you do. And you'll only regret anything that transpires if Kurt's still in the picture."

Blaine eyes him quizzically, standing up and tucking his shirt back into his jeans before staring blatantly at Sebastian for a moment, as if trying to piece together something that doesn't quite fit.

Sebastian knows the feeling well.

"You're not really all that everyone says you are," Blaine finally says quietly, and Sebastian rolls his eyes dramatically if only to keep away the effort to snap at him, to say that of course he is, because the truth was if his reputation was accurate, Blaine would be undressed underneath him instead of gathering his stuff to leave.

"Don't believe everything you hear," he advises instead, Blaine nodding mutely before letting himself out of the room, nothing more than a half-hearted apologetic smile offered in Sebastian's direction before he's gone.

-:-

The thing is, he knows now. Why he wants to be better than Kurt, why he can't just hook up with Blaine and toss him to the side with nothing more than a 'thanks for the orgasm, have a nice life' train of thought he's gotten used to.

Because there's something there that nags at Sebastian when Blaine's not there. Something that feels suspiciously like emotions Sebastian wants nothing to do with, like longing and even a twinge of sadness and then to top it all off, annoyance that he's letting himself get hooked on some guy with an albeit phenomenal ass, but someone who is clearly semi-off limits.

It's the game of cat and mouse, he decides, that has him hook, line and sinker. Because Blaine says one thing, but does another, and then looks incredibly guilty with eyes that would break anyone's heart, even Sebastian's.

So he comes up with a different plan, scraping the original all together. If he wants Blaine, he has to be better than Kurt, and while he doesn't see that as a hard feat, Blaine would. Because even at his worst, Kurt is Blaine's whole world, and while Sebastian can not for the life of him fathom why, he accepts it. It's another challenge to overcome and one he thought he had, but not completely. Sexually, physically, Blaine wants him. But he doesn't see him as boyfriend material, and while Sebastian doesn't question why, he does spend an awful lot of time wondering when he became the kind of guy who wanted to _be_ a boyfriend.

The first step is becoming Blaine's friend.

Sebastian doesn't have a lot of those, or any, really, but he knows the process relatively well enough. And he's seen Blaine in his natural habitat enough to know that people gravitate towards him, his energy and charisma and they like his charming qualities, but they don't get to know _Blaine_. Rachel may be the closest thing he has to a friend, but even she flits off with Kurt and leaves him on his own, and it doesn't seem like there's anyone there to take her place.

Enter Sebastian.

"What are you doing?" Blaine hisses the first time Sebastian slides into the same booth as him at the Lima Bean after their incident, but Sebastian merely slides across a medium drip and offers a smile.

"We're going to be friends."

So maybe he doesn't know exactly what he's doing, but it startles Blaine enough to laugh for a second, before he seems to realize who exactly said the words and caution strikes up once more.

"Friends?"

"Friends."

Blaine nods slowly, taking the coffee offered before smiling a little. "Yeah," he says, nodding, "okay."

It's a little ridiculous how Sebastian's stomach seems to clench with something akin to happiness as Blaine beams at him.

-:-

It turns out, 'friends' is easier than Sebastian was led to believe. He still gets away with blatantly coming onto Blaine, but no one expected him to do a complete 180 in a day. And he finds that he's actually interested in what Blaine has to say; whether it's complaining about his brother coming back to town and everyone fawning over him, or confiding in him that his worries about Regional's now that the Trouble Tones had come back into their group.

The only thing they don't discuss is Kurt, or Blaine's relationship with him, not that Sebastian doesn't understand why. Blaine may have accepted him as a friend, may have grown to trust him even, but there was still the possibility that Sebastian could fall into his old ways at any point in time. It's there, lurking in the corners of Blaine's mind, Sebastian knows.

Occasionally, Blaine will get quiet and stare at him with the same expression he did the day Sebastian declared they were friends. He doesn't squirm under his gaze, only meets it halfway and stares back until Blaine inevitably shakes his head and goes back to his work, occasionally muttering something quietly enough that Seb can't make the words out.

He thinks he knows though. He's been watching Blaine enough to know the telltale signs, of course, that maybe the attraction Blaine's expressed for him in the past has turned into something a little more. Something that Sebastian wants it to turn into, the reason he's biding his time and listening about how Berry has him helping with her upcoming NYADA audition three times a week, challenging her to sing louder and clearer and giving her someone who isn't her competition and isn't the 'love of her life' to guide her in the right direction.

He knows he's right the day Kurt finally confronts him once more.

"You're becoming a problem, Smythe," Kurt snaps while Sebastian is sitting outside the Lima Bean, trying to enjoy the spring air that's come a little early while waiting for Blaine to arrive. "You need to stop spending time with Blaine."

"Why?" Sebastian drawls, sitting up from where he had been laying across the hood of his car. "It's not like you do."

"I do too!" Kurt hisses, his skin turning bright red from the accusation. "He's my boyfriend, of course I spend time with him!"

"Sure," Sebastian concedes, his tone bored because he really doesn't have time to deal with Kurt and his antics once more. "To talk about New York, and NYADA, and how great it'll be to move there with Rachel in the fall. Meanwhile, your boyfriend is heartbroken and you haven't even left yet."

"He's not heartbroken," Kurt snaps, and Sebastian actually looks at him for the first time since Kurt had walked up to him, an incredulous smile toying at his lips.

"Do you even see him?" Sebastian asks, his voice almost sincere and stopping Kurt's actions completely. He's stiller than Sebastian's ever seen him before, hardly looking as if he's breathing, though because of anger or shock, Sebastian doesn't know to care. "Do you see that you had the most fantastic guy Ohio could dish up for you, someone sweet and caring who does nothing but love you, and you're too self-involved to give him the smallest things? He wants attention, Kurt. He deserves it. He's got an ass to die for and his eyes get this almost cartoonish look to them when he's sad, and he laughs and fuck, _I've put in more effort than you have_."

"Of course I see him," Kurt finally argues, though his voice is strained. "You don't have to tell me how wonderful my own boyfriend is. I'm aware."

"I don't think you are," Sebastian scoffs, starting to head towards the door of the coffee shop. "Because if you were, you wouldn't have let him slip under your fingertips."

-:-

"What did you say to Kurt?"

Sebastian's seen Blaine mad, of course, always in proximity to something involving Kurt, but it's never been quite like this. His face is red, though not from the blush that crawls over his skin when Sebastian crosses that very thin line between them with some inappropriate compliment or other, and his eyes are hard as he rests against the chair on the opposite side of the table Sebastian's seated at.

"I take it you don't want your medium drip today," he says dryly, crossing his arms over his chest as Blaine fumes above him. "And I didn't say anything to Kurt that wasn't true."

"Did you tell him about…what happened…way back then?" Blaine asks, voice strained and Sebastian fights back the smirk of victory. They hadn't ever talked about it, the day Blaine would have undoubtedly done everything Sebastian reportedly wants from him, but it's comforting to know that Blaine thinks of it. That he thinks about the two of them, like that, even with Kurt hovering in the corners of their relationship.

"Of course not," Sebastian answers, "though it was with great physical pain not to do so. I would have loved to see the look on his face if he knew that his worrying was pointless by now, I've already won our bet long ago."

"You didn't-"

"I did," Sebastian says, interrupting him and locking green eyes with hazel. "I said that I could have you, and I do."

"I'm with Kurt," Blaine argues, the defiance and anger rolling off him at such a libelous accusation.

"Are you though, Blaine?" Sebastian asks, leaning forward just enough that Blaine's eyes open a little wider in suspicion, curiosity, denial ready to trip off his tongue if Sebastian gives him the chance. Which he won't, of course, because apparently Kurt isn't the only one he has to spell things out for.

Blaine may be a lot of things, but observant is not one of them, and Sebastian only wants to explain himself once.

"Which of us, exactly, was it that you complained for a week straight that Cooper was hogging your spotlight? That the club was falling over themselves to worship at the altar of Cooper Anderson, commercial actor and little brother Blaine shoved off to the side for the better version? Was it Kurt that told you they were all idiots, that you had more talent than any other guy who'd ever graced the halls of Dalton and McKinley combined, and your brother wasn't going to get as far as you could? I may have thrown in a few special innuendos in the original telling, but I don't remember Kurt reminding you of that."

"He-"

"He didn't," Sebastian cut off, standing up and piling his books on the table in front of him, Blaine quieted at the action as he watched, the look of guilt and confusion swirling behind light irises. "And you know it, Blaine. You know that he's going to run away to New York and leave you behind, and you're going to have no one. Except me, who may not have had the best of intentions, but I'm still somehow the one trying. Sebastian Smythe, notorious playboy extraordinaire, has put aside chasing dick for the sake of fun and manipulating people to fall into bed with him for you, Blaine. And Kurt's off texting guys he met in a record shop. So before you go to bed tonight, think about which one of us is really the better fit for you."

It's the most honest he'll ever be, he knows as he heads out the door, head held high. It's also the most vulnerable, and he almost goes to Scandals to pick up a guy just for the hell of it, to prove to himself that he's still all those things, but maybe they're not as fulfilling as he'd always made them to be. Because an orgasm is great, but there's some sort of ache in his chest that's almost constant every time he sees or hears about Kurt with Blaine these days, and some college twink he has no real interest in is never going to fill it.

-:-

The story could have ended in any variety of ways. How it does transpire is this: Chandler turns out to be a bigger hole in their relationship than Sebastian could ever hope to be, or maybe he's a part of that hole and Blaine's just projecting Chandler as an excuse to get out. And while Sebastian respects that he needs time to move on from Kurt, that doesn't stop them from getting shit faced drunk at two in the afternoon on the Saturday Prom is supposed to be being held, and once Blaine crawls into his lap, Sebastian isn't dumb enough to kick him out twice.

And it's not even about Kurt, and pissing him off and the look of complete infuriation that crosses his features whenever Sebastian skips out of school early to pick Blaine up from McKinley, not like it would have been six months ago. Now he doesn't even notice the whispers and glares from Hummel and his gang, just leans against the car door until Blaine's leaning up on his toes to kiss him 'hello', a surprised noise always escaping his throat when Sebastian takes his friendly gesture a step further despite the fact that they're in public. He may not be one for hand holding and singing ballads to one another in courtyards, but he's not about to let people think he's not dating Blaine.

And it's hardly what one would consider a 'romance for the ages' and he cringes whenever Blaine throws around words that come anything close to making things more serious than they are, usually leaning over to kiss him just to get him to shut up before he causes a full-fledged panic attack of _run as fast as you can_ inside of him, but he knows that he's not running anyways.

Blaine Anderson has him hook, line and sinker and Sebastian's just giving into the inevitable with as little resistance as possible.

It makes it easier on all of them.


End file.
